How a miracle in Japan gave us this ultra-premium sake

Rihanna loves it too!

Imagine this: You live in the western coast of Japan in the rural Yamaguchi prefecture. The nearest city, Shimonoseki is almost 60 kilometres away. Close by is a stream from the Nisiki River. Further down, there’s the Chugoku mountain range. Life sounds pretty perfect and idyllic. Many would say that the hustle of the big city and the Grammy-award winning artist Rihanna would be the farthest things from your mind. But Yamaguchi native, Natsuko Matsuura has a different story to tell.

Matsuura is the proud manufacturer of Mujaku, an ultra-premium saké from Yamaguchi that Riri fell in love with last fall. Popular amongst rice wine connoisseurs, Mujaku shot to global fame after Rihanna tasted it at the Armani Hotel in Dubai and bought a few bottles to fly back home with. Retailing at a cool 88,000 yen (approx. Rs55,000), the saké is the byproduct of Matsuura’s attempts to bring global acclaim to her home town. As a beat reporter for a local magazine in Yamaguchi, 35-year-old Matsuura saw the immediate effect of depopulation across the region and decided to revitalise the countryside by buying an old house in the region and launching numerous food-related projects focused on preserving gastronomic traditions.

Matsuura in Yamaguchi

“Mujaku” is also known as the saké of God’s miracle, because the rice used for the drink is actually revered in Japan. Nearly three decades ago, two large typhoons destroyed almost all of Yamaguchi’s rice. Only two stocks of rice native to the region—Isehikari—survived the natural disaster. Its ability to withstand the catastrophe became a joyous miracle for the region. Following this, local farmers in the Yamaguchi prefecture (including Matsuura’s parents) chose to cultivate the Isehikari rice, which incidentally has significantly high protein and fibre levels as compared to other Japanese rice strains. The saké takes about a year to be manufactured, with minimal agricultural chemicals and organic farming techniques that go into the cultivation of the special rice. Matsuura tells us that the most eesential part of the costly Isehikari rice is attained by an intense polishing process. Many locals even objected to the use of this rice, stating that it would be unsuitable for the creation of premium saké. But that was over two years ago.

With a limited stock of only 1,000 bottles produced last year, Mujaku is now marketed as the Dom Perignon of saké. With a fragrant, refreshing flavour, the saké is sought out by connoisseurs and sold exclusively in limited outlets across France, Hong Kong and Dubai, where Rihanna tried it. Over the last few years, Matsuura and her company Archis have single-handedly raised the value and prestige of saké for the world. The ‘mu’ in mujaku translates to dream in Japan. Matsuura’s dream, in this case, was to put her beloved Yamaguchi on the map and one day, she hopes to meet Rihanna. “I am very happy to hear that she likes my saké. My dream is to meet her someday with my Mujaku in hand,” Looking at Matsuura’s journey, there isn’t a doubt that this ‘miracle’ won’t be happening soon.

A bottle of Mujaku saké

“The 2019 “Mujaku” will be ready in the end of May 2019. 1500 bottles are slated to be produced this year. Because of growing demand, the new 2019 bottles will retail for 118,000 yen (Rs75,000). Website.